It was Lucas Nelson's cousin who inspired him to join the family business.

A presentation Kimberly Nelson made to family shareholders in 2016 about Kemin Industries expanding into textile markets made him want to be a part of the Des Moines maker of nutritional products for people and animals.

"I thought, 'Man, why am I not up there?' I have some skills that could help the company," he said.

Now, both Kimberly Nelson, daughter of Kemin CEO Chris Nelson, and Lucas Nelson, his nephew, are heading up new initiatives at the company.

Kimberly Nelson, daughter of Kemin CEO Chris Nelson, and Lucas Nelson, his nephew, are heading up new initiatives at the company shown here at Kemin headquarters Dec. 2018, in Des Moines. Rodney White/The Register

Kimberly Nelson, daughter of Kemin CEO Chris Nelson, and Lucas Nelson, his nephew, are heading up new initiatives at the company shown here at Kemin headquarters Dec. 2018, in Des Moines. Rodney White/The Register

Kimberly Nelson, daughter of Kemin CEO Chris Nelson, and Lucas Nelson, his nephew, are heading up new initiatives at the company shown here at Kemin headquarters Dec. 2018, in Des Moines. Rodney White/The Register

Kimberly Nelson, daughter of Kemin CEO Chris Nelson, and Lucas Nelson, his nephew, are heading up new initiatives at the company shown here at Kemin headquarters Dec. 2018, in Des Moines. Rodney White/The Register

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Kimberly Nelson, 27, will work as a business development manager at Italian textile company Garmon Chemical, which Kemin announced it had purchased this month. Garmon uses enzymes, instead of pumice stones, to weather denim so it looks stone washed.

Lucas Nelson, 30, is general manager of outsourcing at MedPharm Iowa, a new medical marijuana company that Chris Nelson started late last year. He helped lead the 15-member team that put together the proposal that won a state license to make medications derived from cannabis plants.

Both millennials proved themselves outside Kemin before they could find a role inside the 57-year-old company.

Kimberly worked in marketing for five years at a Hong Kong chemical company, while earning a master's degree that focused on textiles and supply chain management.

She found through her master's research that Kemin had expertise in the enzymes used in textile manufacturing. "That's when I started talking to Dad and Grandpa, saying, 'Guys, this is fantastic. We really need to get into this space,'" she said.

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Kimberly Nelson, daughter of Kemin CEO Chris Nelson, and Lucas Nelson, his nephew, are heading up new initiatives at the company shown here at Kemin headquarters Dec. 2018, in Des Moines.(Photo11: Rodney White/The Register)

"It took some salesmanship, but the opportunity was shiny enough for them to buy into it," she said.

Lucas Nelson worked as a real estate attorney in Louisville, Ky., before deciding to join Kemin. First he worked in the company's legal and animal nutrition business units before helping to lead the MedPharm Iowa effort.

He says he always had it in the back of his mind that he wanted to work at the family business.

The cousins have been groomed for roles in the company since they were teens, when they began attending shareholder meetings.

Kimberly said she felt sorry for the CFO, tasked with explaining concepts like revenue, profit and loss, and balance sheets to 16- and 17-year-olds.

"I think there were a lot of glazed eyes," Lucas said. "But having that exposure at a young age certainly got me interested in the business path that I took in college and in law school."

"That little spark, however much we paid attention as kids ... got the two of us here. It played some role in getting us to these positions."

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Kemin Industries CEO Chris Nelson talks about the need for protein in the world's food supply and how that has been driving Kemin's growth.
Rodney White and Michael Zamora/The Register

And the two are dedicated to reaching the family's ambitious goal to become a seventh-generation family-owned business.

“Both Lucas and I feel passionately that we need to make sure that the company has continued growth over those years,” she said. "But to do that, we need to diversify and expand — our portfolio and our global footprint.